Everything Old is New AgainI often wonder if King Solomon got any royalties from that song. He was the first one who said it in
"Vanity, vanity; all is vanity" or something else equally profound. I don't have anything profound to say or write but that thought came to me as I was listening to Bill Gaither songs this morning. That's nothing new.
We have a whole shelf of Bill Gaither videos and hardly a morning goes by that we don't have one plugged into the VCR. This morning, though, we were listening to an old 33 rpm record album we had when we first got
married, 33 plus years ago.
With Christmas comes nostalgia that the shopping marketers play on. I'm seldom moved by advertisements as I've learned to limit advertising in my life – no TV and very little radio, but I
do browse the Target ads in the Sunday paper. In one Sunday ad Target listed a Crowsley 4-in-1. This new/old gadget has a CD, cassette and radio along with a turn table. As our first recorder player lasted 20 some years
we decided to move into the space age with a cassette player when it died and didn't replace it – yes, it lasted that long!
But up in the loft were a stack of records we had listened to over and over and over early in
our marriage. Actually, the record player is still up there. They are part of the very few things I have not cleared out over the years. Too many good spiritual and emotional memories were tied to them. I can still
remember John's excitement and pride in picking out 'the right' stereo system for us. It was one of the best purchases of our lives. We used it many times a day for 20 plus years and would be using it still if the
record player hadn't just worn out.
So this morning, we were living the song, Everything Old is New Again. John had pulled out the stack of old records and we had on the double album set "Something Beautiful" by Bill
Gaither. The thing that amazed me was that despite the number of years since I'd heard the albums I still knew what song would start and each one that followed. I could almost give the talks the speakers gave. I knew
them all by heart. I do that with the Bill Gaither videos we have but those were bought in recent years so I'm not surprised about that, but these songs and words go back 30 years and they are still imbedded in my
heart, mind and soul.
I have been so blessed that the riches of my memories have such jewels. If I stretch back and dig deep enough I can find the dark memories as well. But how rich I am that God brings the good
memories to the top, like rich cream on the goats' milk that has set for a day or two in the refrigerator. The dark memories He has allowed to sink to the bottom of the memory jar to be discarded as dredges in a vinegar
bottle.
I'm so thankful my mind can still see my husband carrying in that stereo system. I can still feel his pride in providing such an extravagance for his family. I'm so thankful that that man is still the same.
Each day he joyfully carries in provision for me, his family.
And as I listen to the old 33 records I hear words that prove Everything Old is New Again – "I Believe, I Believe"; "Jesus Loves Me"; "Something
Beautiful". By the way, for Christmas our kids bought us tickets to the Gaither's concert in Dallas this Feb. I'm praying that Everything Old comes New Again for the next generation, too.
